Contemporary Native American culture is often extremely marginalized, due in part to continued effects of European “colonization”, deliberate and accidental genocide, and government-sanctioned acculturation. Approximately 1 million Native Americans representing 300 distinct nations survive in American society today, with varying degrees of cultural activity and success. Native American drama is just as varied as the multitudes of cultural groups that fall into this category, with diverse religious significance, language, and cultural orientation and identity. Native American artistic training takes a form of apprenticeship in community-approved values which incorporate all aspects of society – with even the most innocuous actions blending into the cultural ideology. Fundamental ideas in Native American ritual include nonlinear time and dimension-less sacred place, both having no real counterpart in Western Euro-centric thought. Native American drama and performance also blurs the Western distinctions between “actor” and “audience”, re-emphasizing the communal theme in Native theater.
Native American theater and “drama” covers a wide range of expression, including ritual dances, verbal art, or even simple acts such as “tale-telling”. Navajo chantways serve as a type of dramatic “epic” with costuming, choreography, and emotional intensity. More generally, many Native American dramatic experiences incorporate shamanism as a cross-point between ritual, magic, and performance. Ceremonial potlatching and securing family relationships is another aspect of Native drama in the northwest.
Contemporary Native American culture is often extremely marginalized, due in part to continued effects of European “colonization”, deliberate and accidental genocide, and government-sanctioned acculturation. Approximately 1 million Native Americans representing 300 distinct nations survive in American society today, with varying degrees of cultural activity and success. Native American drama is just as varied as the multitudes of cultural groups that fall into this category, with diverse religious significance, language, and cultural orientation and identity. Native American artistic training takes a form of apprenticeship in community-approved values which incorporate all aspects of society – with even the most innocuous actions blending into the cultural ideology. Fundamental ideas in Native American ritual include nonlinear time and dimension-less sacred place, both having no real counterpart in Western Euro-centric thought. Native American drama and performance also blurs the Western distinctions between “actor” and “audience”, re-emphasizing the communal theme in Native theater.
Native American theater and “drama” covers a wide range of expression, including ritual dances, verbal art, or even simple acts such as “tale-telling”. Navajo chantways serve as a type of dramatic “epic” with costuming, choreography, and emotional intensity. More generally, many Native American dramatic experiences incorporate shamanism as a cross-point between ritual, magic, and performance. Ceremonial potlatching and securing family relationships is another aspect of Native drama in the northwest.